


Emotional Gambling

by Redskybluecherry



Category: One Piece
Genre: Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, Canon Universe, F/M, First Meetings, One Shot, Reader-Insert, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-02-01 07:21:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21436021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redskybluecherry/pseuds/Redskybluecherry
Summary: “I’ll let you have anything you want. On one condition,” you said.“You’re playing a dangerous game, waitress. Who says I need your permission? I’m a pirate. I take what I want.”
Relationships: Eustass Kid/Original Female Character(s), Eustass Kid/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 129





	Emotional Gambling

You’d met your fair share of pirates over the years – as someone working as a waitress in one of the taverns on Sabaody, it’s kind of a given. What was once shyness and timidness turned into confidence and authority – a scared little damsel didn’t make it far in this world, a lesson you’d learned the hard way.

Like others, you’d acquired the power of a devil fruit – what had been nothing but an accident back when you were younger had enabled you to save your own life many, many times over the years.

You weren’t much of a fighter, never had been. But what you were capable of was something powerful in its own right – to sense other people’s emotions.

Everytime a suspicious or shady individual entered the bar, all you had to do was focus the entirety of your attention on them for just a split-second, and you’d know what they were feeling. It wasn’t as precise as mind-reading or as invasive as thought-control, but it had proven useful, once you’d gotten a hang of it.

Initially, it had seemed so exciting – getting to know the most intimate emotions of complete strangers, seeing behind the exterior. But you’d quickly come to know one crucial fact: People were exceptionally boring.

Before learning how to use your power correctly, you wouldn’t have ever imagined most human beings to be so alike in their range of emotions.

Most of the time, if a customer entered the bar, you could already tell what he or she was feeling before using your powers – that’s how predictable people were. The average customer was male, around 30-40 years of age, with emotions ranging from frustration to lust, usually with an addition of loneliness.

Pirates were at least a little bit more interesting to you, but in the end, even most of them were predictable.

Your power was a life-saver in certain situations – you could already tell when a fight was about to break out or when someone had murderous or cruel intentions. People could deceive others, but not you. Emotions never lied.

The only person whose emotions were still able to confuse you were your own.

Were you happy here? You had no idea. Life on Sabaody wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good, either. You earned enough to pay the rent, you survived, you liked some of your co-workers, and once in a while, when you felt really lonely, you’d go on a date, which eventually led to nothing. The moment you told potential suitors about your ability, most of them took to their heels immediately.

You didn’t really know what about your power was so intimidating to other people – it’s not like you were a walking lie-detector, or a mind-reader. Yes, usually, you could tell when people were lying, by sensing guilt or other conflicting emotions within them, but you could never be absolutely sure, and you’d never used your ability to spy on others or emotionally manipulate them.

Nevertheless, people tended to stay away from you once they discovered your “secret” (which wasn’t an actual secret, really, since you were pretty upfront about it).

You’d contemplated moving away and leaving this life many, many times and yet you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. There was next to nothing holding you here, but there was even less waiting for you out there.

You’d never had a family, had always had to get by on your own, and even though you weren’t a naïve, defenseless little girl anymore, you weren’t stupid enough to believe you’d be able to survive on the Grand Line on your own, either. So you stayed. You waited. For an opportunity to leave. For someone or something worth leaving for.

The sound of the doors opening interrupted your thoughts, you immediately used your power to assess the situation.

_Hunger. Desperation. Self-loathing._

It was a typical day with typical customers. The last time something exciting had happened in your little life had been way too long ago.

You walked over to the customer, a regular, to get his order, silently pitying him. He must’ve had a horrible day, usually, he was in a way better mood.

Beth, your colleague, asked you whether she could go for a smoke, and since the bar was still fairly empty, you let her.

_Sadness. Longing. Loneliness._

Ah, so her boyfriend had left her, once again. You weren’t sure why she even put up with the man, since he broke up with her at least once a month, before he eventually came crawling back to her, pleading and begging her to take him back. But in between all the heart-break, you knew there was still too much love left on her side, as well as not nearly enough self-worth to get rid of him for good.

Suddenly, you heard shouting and noises from outside. A group of males, loud, foul-mouthed, and apparently in the mood to drink – _pirates_.

You smiled. Maybe the evening wasn’t going to be as boring as you’d thought, after all.

As soon as the first one entered, you focused on him immediately.

_Blood-Lust. Thirst. Lasciviousness._

The usual. They probably hadn’t been on shore leave for a while. Most likely, they’d get drunk here and visit a brothel thereafter. _How predictable_.

Some of the other crew members arrived, and they all felt the same, more or less. You, as well as Beth, who’d returned from her cigarette break with red, puffy eyes, immediately took their orders and brought them their drinks. It was better not to keep pirates waiting.

Even though the crew hadn’t caused any trouble so far, you felt anxious. You hadn’t seen their captain yet, and from what you could tell, he wasn’t among them. The easiest way to find out whether a crew was going to play by the rules or wreak total havoc was to analyze their captain.

And then, suddenly, you felt it.

Normally, you had to focus on a person to be able to feel their emotions, but once in a while, when the emotions were exceptionally strong, you could sense them without having to focus on, or even look at the person harbouring them.

But never, not once, had you felt something as strong and all-consuming as this.

_Hatred. Hatred. Hatred. Bloodlust. Fury. Hatred. Resolve. Strength. Self-hatred. Pain. _

It was chaos. If not even _you_ could decipher the whirlwind of this man’s emotions, you had no idea how it must feel to _be_ him. To _feel_ all of that, at the same time.

Before he even walked in, you were already sure of two things: Firstly, this man was highly, extraordinarily dangerous. You’d have act with uttermost caution. Secondly, even though it was irrational, stupid and most probably masochistic, you desperately wanted to get to know him.

Never before had you witnessed so many negative, dark emotions within one individual. It was exhilarating.

“Captain, there you are, finally!”

And there he was.

The dimmed lighting of the bar made him look otherworldly, like a beautiful nightmare come to life. His crimson hair – like a crown of blood, the scars on his face and torso witnesses of battles won and lost alike, the grin adorning his features as ambiguous as the emotions you’d sensed in him.

“Oh n-no.” Beth whispered from beside you, making you turn around.

_Fear. Shock. Anxiety._

“I recognize him from the posters,” she whispered. “That’s Eustass Kid. W-we should probably tell the boss, I-I don’t think-“

“You do that. I’ll serve them.” You replied, trying to come across as calm and collected as possible. Beth had already had a bad day, there was no reason to upset her further.

“(Y/N), a-are you sure? I mean y-“

“It’s alright, I know how to deal with him. Don’t worry.”

You were lying. You may have encountered your fair share of pirates, but never the likes of Eustass Kid. His bounty, his powers and his crew didn’t intimidate you – what was actually going on inside his head was way more violent and gruesome than the crimes he committed, of that you were sure.

The best way to handle him was to keep your head down and not attract his attention, you knew that. And yet you still couldn’t help but feel drawn to this man, to the danger he posed, to the excitement he presented.

Taking a deep breath, you walked over, nonchalantly adressing the entire group and asking whether they wanted to order some more drinks.

You suspected he was used to civilians trembling in fear and cowering before him, and you’d been right. He immediately turned around to look at you, his penetrating eyes betraying no emotions. He was testing you.

_Irritation. Antipathy. Curiosity._

Bingo.

He looked you up and down, clearly wanting to make you feel uncomfortable. And it was working, at least party, though you didn’t let it show. Instead, you simply looked back at him, your expression neither exceptionally friendly nor wary. Lifting a non-existent eyebrow, he asked:

“And who the fuck are you supposed to be?”

Still smiling, yet unable to keep your eyes from glimmering with excitement, you answered: “Nobody. Just a waitress.”

He scoffed, then eyed you up once more before saying: “Two glasses of the strongest shit you serve here. And you better hurry, _waitress_. I’m not a patient man.” As you walked away, you could basically feel his eyes burning holes through your back.

Once you returned the bar, your boss was already awaiting you.

_Stress. Nervousness. Greed._

You mentally rolled your eyes. Even when it came to highly dangerous pirates, he was still more concerned about his profit than the safety of his employees.

“So, is he in a good mood, then?” he asked you.

Trying to explain the complexity of Eustass Kid’s psyche to your boss would prove futile anyway, since he wouldn’t listen – he never listened. So, deciding not to waste your breath, you replied: “Depends. Not the worst mood, apparently.”

“Fine, fine. Beth, you’ll be serving them from now on. (Y/N), you’ll be preparing the drinks.”

“B-but Sir, I-“

You interruped Beth immediately. “Boss, with all due respect, Beth isn’t fit to deal with these guys.”

“But she’s the _prettier _waitress. And _pretty_ waitresses boost sales. She’ll be serving them, that’s final. Now get to it.”

Begrudgingly you did as he asked, but not before pulling your colleague aside to give her a little pep talk – it was the least you could do for her. “I’ll watch them carefully. If I sense a change of emotion, I’ll let you know, ok?”

Despite your concern, Beth managed to do better than you expected, and to your surprise, Kid’s emotions seemed unaffected by her appearance – he just ignored her. Since most of the other customers had left shortly after the pirate’s arrival, you didn’t have much to do, so you focused all of your attention on Kid and his crew.

The one person he seemed to be the closest to was the masked man right beside him. It was difficult differentiating his and Kid’s emotional patterns at first, since they were very similar. Yet he seemed to be more level-headed than his Captain, even though he felt nearly as much pain and anger as Kid.

“(Y/N)? I-I’m going for a smoke, is that all right? I-I’ve just brought them another round, and the boss went back to his office, so…”

You just waved her off, sending a smile her way.

Tilting your head back and closing your eyes, you took a moment to relax.

_What were you still doing here? And where were you supposed to be? What was your purpose in life?_

Yes, not even someone who had such a vast knowledge of emotions as you was safe from the typical symptoms of lethargy and depression.

All your life, you’d waited, hoped for something, someone to show you what you were supposed to do, who you were supposed to be. But no one had emerged, no one had surprised you – the world had been nothing but a disappointment.

_At least until now_, that traitorous little voice inside your head whispered.

Eustass Kid was like no one you’d ever met before – in both the best and the worst way possible. If you’d try to worm your way into his life, you’d either end up dead or on top of the world – somehow you knew there was no middleground when it came to him.

_But was staying here any better? Or just a prolonged, more tedious way of dying?_

However, it seemed you wouldn’t have to decide, since you suddenly felt Kid’s aura becoming overhwhelmingly strong. Looking back up, you saw him heading straight towards you, his amber eyes already fixating you.

In addition to the ever-present hatred, anger and pain, you were also able to sense curiosity and just the slightest hint of interest.

He took a seat at the bar right across from you, slamming his glass down on the counter as he did so.

“Another one,” he growled, eyes watching you intently as you filled the glass back up and handed it to him.

“So, _waitress_. What’s your power?” He was grinning now, that manic grin from before. You wondered how many of his enemies had drawn their last breath to the sight of that smile, and the thought frightened and excited you both at the same time.

“How’d you know?” you asked him, curious as to how we would react. Him and you both knew he could easily crush you if he wanted, yet he still seemed more amused than pissed at your light teasing. He truly was unpredictable.

“No fucking way some little girl like you would ever talk to me like that if you didn’t have something up your sleeve.”

Now it was your time to smirk. “It’s nothing special, really. I’m able to feel other people’s emotions, and draw conclusions based on them. That’s all.”

He put his elbow up on the counter, leaning in slightly. “Interesting. Tell me, _waitress._ What am I feeling right now?”

_Confidence. Superiority. Lust._

Oh. _That_ was new. You couldn’t say you were opposed, and yet…

“I’ll let you have anything you want. On one condition,” you said.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, waitress. Who says I need your permission? I’m a _pirate_. I _take_ what I want.”

The look in his eyes was positively predatory, yet you still didn’t sense any intention of hurting you… _at least not in any way you wouldn’t want him to_.

“Then take me. Take me away from here.” After a moment, you added: “Please.”

He laughed – a cruel, mocking sound. “And why would a proper little waitress like you want to join a pirate crew, let alone _my_ crew?”

In spite of his impulsiveness and his reputation, you could easily tell he was way more attentive than the average person might give him credit for – he’d probably see through a lie right away. So you told him the truth.

“Because I have nothing to lose. And you have everything to gain by taking me with you.”

You were gambling and you knew it. Yes, your powers were useful and you certainly knew how to defend yourself, but apart from that, you didn’t bring all that much to the table. _But anything was better than staying here_.

“You better watch your mouth in the future, little waitress. Otherwise, you won’t stay alive for very long.” He hissed, and though you had no doubt the threat was genuine, you could tell he had no intention to kill you. Not right now, at least.

He turned around to walk away, and just when you thought he’d simply leave you standing there, he said, without turning back around: “Pack your stuff. We’re leaving at sunset.”

You smiled. It seemed people weren’t quite as disappointing as you’d thought, after all.

_A pirate’s life it is, then._

**Author's Note:**

> Just an idea i had and then wanted to write down.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading. <3


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